Chang Liu (LUNA)

Self-control Removal System

Augmented Reality Installation/2024

“Self-Control Removal System” is an AR installation that exemplifies how the cut-throat East Asian college entrance exams drain the self-control of teachers and students over their negative emotions, resulting in school bullying.

The black vortex on the ground is filled with exam questions from five East Asian countries, which represents the irresistible force of the East Asian examination culture. The school desk with infinite reflection of exam questions conveys students’ feelings of boredom, suffocation, and lonely.

The huge wealth inequality in East Asian countries has caused parents to be anxious about their social status. The audience plays an East Asian parent in this AR game. The player must push the glowing egg out of the coin pusher machine to win. The golden egg represents the high-achieving children many East Asian parents desire. Although the game seems to provide two winning methods, the player is forced to adopt only one method due to resource constraints. This limitation implies that underprivileged parents in East Asia have no choice but to force their children to study hard and rank high in the entrance exams.

The AR sculpture beside the coin pusher will alter according to the player’s decision throughout gameplay. The voice narration and the animations in the AR sculpture are created based on real stories, which illustrate three things: 1) how teachers and students gradually lose self-control and become bullies, 2) the various forms of bullying in East Asian schools, and 3) the personality disorders that victims of school bullying might develop.